Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What's On Your List?

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie

I love this quote. I love what gratitude does for me. Melody’s list is beautiful and helps me think outside the box a little, but what gratitude does for me is more simple. It creates a sense of peace and well being.

Some years ago, I kept a gratitude journal. It was a small notebook, that I kept near my bed. Before settling down for the night I wrote 5 things I was thankful for. Reptition was okay, but I loved trying to think of something different. Some days the things I wrote were simple and predictable. Occasionally, I thought of something really profound. As I made it my habit to notice things that I was grateful for, I found that my attitude shifted, and with it my reality shifted too.

Being grateful creates abundance. It always does. I love abundance. I have heard it said that there is only abundance. We choose the type of abundance we prefer to focus on. We can focus on abundance of joy, or abundance of pain. We can focus on abundance of resources, or abundance of trials. It’s an interesting idea isn’t it? We can create the type of abundance that we focus on. We always get more of what we put our attention on. We can choose.

I choose abundance.

I am always surprised at the people I know who think in lack. There is not a more affluent country on the planet. There is not a more prosperous time to live than now. Sure we have problems, who doesn’t? When and where would you rather live than here and now?

Consider this thought from the book Raising Self Reliant Children in a Self Indulgent World by Stephen Glenn. “If you have more than one change of underwear, more than one pair of shoes, and more than one choice of what you will eat for dinner…fewer than 10% of the people who have ever lived have been as wealthy as you.” Does that make your eyes pop out?

I invite you to take a 30 day challenge. What have you got to lose? For thirty days, take a moment each night to be grateful. Before you turn out the lights list 5 things that you are grateful for. Why not start today.

I’ll go first.

1. I am grateful for my freedom, and for those who gave this gift to me.2. I am grateful for dear friends, both old and new.3. I am grateful for my eyes, and the beauty they bring into my life.4. I am grateful for my ears and the meaning they bring into my world.5. I am grateful for my hands, which serve me faithfully in so many ways.

3 comments:

You are going to think this sounds silly, but I am so grateful for indoor plumbing. My dad tells us all the outhouse stories he lived through when he was a kid. I am just so glad to have a warm room with a light if I'm up in the middle of the night. *sigh* Especially when the kids are sick. =)

This is so inspiring--I have had to do this enough in my life that it has become second nature--however, this is just the ticket for my husband and I am going to tell him that YOU told him so (hee hee!).

I'm grateful for my critique group.I'm grateful for a functioning (sometimes ;) mind.I'm grateful for my cozy home.I am grateful for two beautiful, healthy children.I'm grateful to be married to the greatest love of my life and to be loved by him in return.

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